Aedan is 1 month old

Aedan is 1 month old today! Can you say, time flies when you're having fun? Or when you're too sleep-deprived to know what day it is...











Aedan's first month was actually a lot easier than Brody's.  It helps that I knew what to expect, what to worry about and was a lot more patient with breastfeeding.  It doesn't hurt that Aedan is sleeping better than Brody already.

He's a great sleeper.  Once we let him sleep on his own he started off with 3-4 hour stretches.  In the last week, he's slept 7 hours for 3 nights and 8 hours last night.  I am getting so spoiled!  Brody was a great sleeper and even he didn't sleep for 7 hours until 6-7 weeks old.  He's amazing.

Aedan weighs 10lbs 11.5oz and is almost 23 inches.  He always seems so much longer than they say he is, but I think it's just the way he's built.  His torso is very long.  He's in the 90th percentile for height, 75th for weight and 50-75th for his head.  Definitely a big kid, which is a huge relief that we're not constantly worrying about his size.  He's fitting best in size 1 diapers and 0-3 month clothes.  Some of them are getting tight though, so we may end up in 3-6 month clothes sooner than we did with Brody.

In the last week or so, Aedan has found his voice. He's practicing oohing and aahing. It's adorable. Much better than the grunting I normally hear from him. He has great facial expressions, that are practically identical to Brody's baby faces, so that's pretty cute. I'm enjoying him being awake more often during the day and we're using it to do some tummy-time. It can be kind of quiet when the baby sleeps all day!

Aedan gets out of the house fairly often, since I have a hard time staying home.  On the fun side, he's been to a few birthday parties and a pumpkin farm.  He's also been out shopping more times than I can count.  When my very tolerant husband started asking what I was going to Target for, again, I realized I probably go a little too much.  But there's always something you need, right?!?

11 Months!

Yes, the countdown has begun. We're officially less than a month away from Brody's 1st Birthday! And I say it every month (and will continue to say this for the rest of my life) but he's getting so big so fast. I see it every day but every once and awhile it still catches me off guard when I realize how much he's grown in 11 months. He used to be so tiny!

Okay, I'm wiping away the tears now and onto what he's been up to...

Walking! I have to say we officially have a "walker." He's not perfectly steady on his feet, but he usually chooses to walk from one part of the room to the other. Many times (i.e. when he's not tired) even when he falls, he'll stand himself back up and keep walking. He's not as daring as I thought he would be, since he will walk towards something that he can hold onto to steady himself before walking to his end goal. However, not surprisingly, he usually falls because he's trying to walk too fast. He wants to run, but his feet won't keep up!

Honestly, I think he's been working so hard on walking and standing up on his own, that he hasn't had time for any other skills. But there are a few other small ones he's working on. Rumor has it, he can wave! I have yet to see it, so I still don't believe it, but his daycare teachers swear it's hilarious. He doesn't go for the typical baby hand flopping up and down wave. No -- he apparently swings his arms from side to side like he's drawing a rainbow. Apparently him & another boy in his daycare room do this to each other after nap time. But he's in no hurry to show his parents.

He's added "na-na" to his "baba, mama, dada" rambling. I think he's pretty sure what mama means, but he still will use it out of context. But many days he'll say, "mama" directly to me while he's coming towards me. So it's hard to say. He's also getting really good at turning pages while we read books & he loves to clap! He's also "pointing" at things, at least that what we think. He actually uses his whole hand to point instead of just a finger, it's pretty cute.

As far as personality, I do think we have a little shy guy on our hands. He adapts well to new situations in the fact that he doesn't cry or freak out in new places. Or if we leave him alone & he cries, he'll get over it very quickly. However, if we're there, he does tend to cling to us a little bit until he's sure of the situation.

More than anything, he never "shows off" in big groups. We couldn't get him to clap at his cousin's basketball game, but he loved watching the game and sat still for an hour to do so! At his Aunt's graduation party, he walked a few steps but nothing like he does when it's just us and him.

For now, I'm classifying him as an observer. He seems to love watching what other people (and kids) are doing before he jumps right in. And this is where his personality continues to take after me. I'm actually pretty shy in new situations, but eventually warm up.

Last month until we officially have a toddler on our hands! But at least there will be a fun birthday celebration!

And this last picture is his reaction to taking 11 month pictures -- I'm outta here!

Brody is 9 months old

Brody is officially 9 months old today. Which is less exciting as Brody's friend and future wife, Aubrie turning one year old! Time sure does fly!

Brody is continuing to show us his crazy side by speed-crawling and getting into everything. He giggles furiously when we try to stop him from doing something he's not supposed to do. His favorite toys right now are his walker, shopping cart, balls and activity table that plays some great dancing music!

He's getting better at standing up without holding onto anything but doesn't stand up on his own yet. He walks great while holding onto walking toys, or really anything he can push around the floor. He'll be transferring to an older room at daycare in the next month, so he's been playing with the toddlers outside a lot and loves it. He's also eating finger foods for snacks at a toddler table & chair. He's practicing drinking from a sippy cup but hasn't quite mastered it yet.

He's had some trouble sleeping this month and has had a couple colds again. He also has pink-eye this week caused by his cold virus. His doctor gave him eye drops just in case and once he wasn't contagious, he headed back to daycare. He isn't loving the eye drops and it's a two-person job to put them in. Hopefully his immunities are getting stronger with each cold and we'll have a healthier year next year!

Happy half birthday Brody!

Brody is 6 months old! I know, I know, they grow up too quickly. I've been hearing that since the day he was born. But what truely amazes me is how in 6 short months he went from this:

to this:

No, he's not crawling, but he can push himself up on his knees and arms and rock back and forth. Then he loses momentum and collapses to the floor. He can push himself backwards quite sucessfully which drives him nuts when he's trying to go towards a toy! In the last week he's been trying to pull himself up by grabbing onto us or a couch or anything nearby, but he probably still has awhile before he has enough strength.

He's not quite double his birth weight, but weighs in at 16 lbs (only 25th percentile) and is 28 inches tall (90th percentile). Brody wears mostly 6-9 month clothes but I think he'll grow out of them length-wise sooner than later.
He's eating baby food purees twice a day and so far had tried: Applesauce, Peaches, Pears, Bananas, Prunes, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans and rice cereal. He doesn't seem to love the green beans anymore, but he likes the rest of what he's tried. I'm working on making most of his baby food and so far he loves my homemade carrot & sweet potato baby food.
He sits up great by himself and has learned to catch himself before he falls to the ground. He'll roll a little as he tumbles to soften the landing. And when he doesn't quite catch himself, he usually doesn't cry. Though every once and awhile he'll slip away, tumble or fall backwards resulting in tears that usually only last a few seconds. He even ended up with his first bruise this week. Since he's half-mine, I know he's in for many many more of those in his life.

He's still a very happy active baby boy. He doesn't like to be held still, but when he's sleepy or needs comforting, he's a great cuddler. He turns towards voices he recognizes and smiles at familiar faces. Even if your face is familiar though, he sometimes gets a bit apprehensive. I haven't quite figured it out. He may be experiencing some stranger anxiety, but it's a little early on the learning charts for that one.

No teeth yet but he continues to show symptoms of teething. It could be awhile before we see anything pop through or it could be right around the corner. It's really hard to tell!

Other new experiences for Brody this month include: first family vacation, first "swim" in lake Michigan (big fail!), first beach experience and first fireworks.

Brody is 3 months

My baby is no longer a newborn, the first three months have come and gone. We think Brody weighs around 13.5 lbs and he's definitely growing lengthwise. He's in 1-2 diapers but quickly moving to size 2. He's wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes and already outgrowing some of his 3-6 month sleepers.

This month Brody has become more and more active. He's even starting to enjoy tummy time thanks to his teachers at daycare. He's getting so close to rolling over, but hasn't yet. He kicks his legs a ton like he's getting ready to crawl, though that won't come for awhile. When he's kicking and pushing himself up he can rock on his side a little, but just can't quite get over his shoulder. Although his daycare teacher says he rolled over, no one has seen it since.

He's starting to play with toys more and will hold onto things for a while. He is still so observant and will now turn his head around as much as possible to watch people. He's even started taking interest in the TV, which means we are lot more careful about which direction he's facing! His daddy is trying to get him to love watching baseball, but I'm not a big fan of my three month old staring off at the TV. He continues to entertain us with his facial expressions and crazy hair. Overall he's very happy and only cries when he's overtired or hungry. Unfortunately, he's not napping very well at daycare, so being overtired comes with the territory. Luckily, he's still sleeping through the night! Crying or not, he's still my little man and makes me smile constantly.

Another month flies by (2 months!)

Brody is two months old today. His 2 month appointment is on Tuesday, so I am not sure exactly how long he is or how much he weighs. However, we can tell he's growing well. He's outgrown many more outfits and will be shifting to 1-2 sized diapers which are slightly bigger than 1. His height continues to be our problem instead of weight. Many onsies fit his belly great, but aren't long enough.

He's eating about 5 times a day for a total of 25-30 ounces of formula. He started settling into a good eating/sleeping schedule and then switched it up on me, showing us that he's still a baby and naturally unpredictable. Some nights we get 8-10 hours of sleep before waking, other nights, he'll wake up after 4-5 hours. Instead of being up most of the morning and napping most of the afternoon, he's now sleeping a lot in the morning and taking a nap much later in the afternoon.

Brody still loves observing people and the environment around him. Walking around the house is a very easy way to keep him entertained. He's also very active and will often fuss if you just try to snuggle. He wants to be free to move around and "stand" on his feet. He's always smiling and starting to giggle a little.

I have less than 4 weeks left home with him, so we're starting to do little things to prepare him for daycare. For starters, I've begun moving his nap location from the swing to his crib. He naps GREAT in his swing, so the switch has been a little difficult. The swing makes him feel warm and secure and will rock him back to sleep when he wakes up. His crib is big and empty and there isn't anyone or anything to put him back to sleep when he stirs. So, we're working on it!

The next month will be very eventful as he starts daycare just before his 3 month mark. Since he's proven to be very adaptable and seems to have an easy-going personality, I am not too worried about him doing well there.

Brody's 1 month "birthday" & 1 month doctor appt

Brody turned one month over the weekend, and I didn't do a good job blogging about it, so I am going to combine it with a post about his 1 month pediatrician appointment.

I can't believe he's 1 month already. He's growing extremely fast (already more than 10lbs) and changing everyday. He's a lot more alert and awake more often. We play together everyday usually just by playing on his playmat, talking to him and making funny faces. He's still taking in the world around him so he's always looking around facinated with everything. He loves bright lights and will often stare out a window or up at the ceiling lights. He's growing out of some of his 0-3 month clothes (Gerber brand sizes run very small) and is already into size 1 diapers. Below is a picture of J holding him up to his growth chart which starts at 2 feet. He's not quite there yet, but getting close!

Today was Brody's one month check-up. He's now 10lbs 1oz and 23inches long! He's in the 90th percentile for his length and 50th percentile for his weight. So if it's any indicator of what's to come, he'll be a tall guy. While the nurse was measuring him, she kept mentioning how alert and active he was. He was so well behaved and just kept looking around and observing everything.

The doctor examined him and said everything looked good. We talked through the many questions I had so I left feeling great about his health.

First, we talked about the blood in his diaper. It lingered for a couple days after his appointment last week but appears to be gone. Since I'm now planning to start formula feeding more frequently, we talked about whether or not I should stick with the soy version that we started last week. He said that we should stick with the same formula for at least a month and make sure that the blood doesn't reappear. Then down the road if we want to try a milk-based formula again, we'll talk about it.

The other big item I was worried about is his fussiness after he eats. I am not sure if it is typical gassiness or if he has something else wrong (reflux can occur in babies). He said though it could be reflux, before he prescribes medicine he thinks we should give it some time and see if it gets better. He said that as his muscles become stronger it may just resolve itself. He recommended gas drops and to just call if it gets worse.

Also, since he seems to have trouble falling asleep at night when we lay him flat on his back, I asked about a sleep positioner which will prop him up a bit on an incline. Our doc said to definitely go ahead and use one if it works. He used one with his daughter and loved it. So maybe that will help get Brody back to sleep better at night.

Then Brody needed to get his second round of the hepatitis B shot. He handled it like a pro! The nurse gave him the shot and he didn't even flinch. Then after she was done, all of a sudden he got this look on his face like, "what the heck just happened?!?" and cried for about 10 seconds. Then he was calm and happy again. Let's hope he handles the 2 month shots just as well!